Favorite Characters That Smoke

Weird title, right? Who likes smoking? Smoking is bad for one’s health and causes all sorts of problems. Why would anyone smoke? Well, who cares about that right now. Today, I’m going to go over a list of characters that I’ve enjoyed watching in anime that do, in fact, smoke (be it cigarettes, pipes, cigars–you name it!). To start this off, though, I’m going to leave out one of the most well-known anime characters in history who smokes–Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop.

I’ll be writing small paragraphs for three characters, and listing another three because I like them as characters, but don’t really know what to say about them.

Okay, let’s get started!

Sanji– I love Sanji in all his perverted, crazy, loving, obsessive ways. He’s just a likable character to me. His later progression really got me to feel for him. His story during the Whole Cake Island arc is truly heartbreaking, and that’s what actually made me like his character more than I did previously. Sanji’s emotional, but he does what he thinks is best for himself and for the Straw Hat crew when needed–which I think explains his actions pretty well during the later arcs of the story. Still, though, you rarely see the man without a cigarette, and it became a staple of the character. Sanji from One Piece? Cigarette. He’s happy? Got a cig between his lips. Sanji is crying? He’s trying to light one…

This makes me want to cry all over again

Shizuo Heiwajima– There’s not a lot for me to say about this character to be completely honest. I haven’t seen Durarara!! in a long time, but one character always ended up sticking out to me. And he smokes, so that works out well for this blog post, no? Anyway, Shizuo is just one of the characters in DRRR!! that I can’t seem to forget because he’s absolutely insane. He’s so strong–considered the strongest man in Ikebukuro by many–and takes part in hilarious antics. You want to throw something (like a fridge, or a vending machine, or a car?) Shizuo. Yeah, that’s about all I’ve got on Shizuo to be honest, but fridge throwing and smoking is enough to get me to like him.

Gotta get me glasses like those

Asuma Sarutobi– Oh, Asuma…if only you survived. Still, though, I enjoyed learning about Asuma’s character in specific points of the Naruto franchise. While the story as a whole still bothers me to some extent, I think Asuma’s backstory was one of the more enjoyable to learn. A man that left Konoha to pursue his own interests and became one of the Twelve Guardians, who was able to become strong enough in taijutsu that he could block attacks with his chakra-imbued knives from weapons and people equal or, in a sense, more powerful than him, and had the ability to use wind and fire release techniques. Asuma was the man that helped Naruto control and develop his own style of fighting with wind release techniques, helping Naruto develop the rasengan since it was an incomplete jutsu. Overall, he was an extremely likable character and one rarely, if ever, saw him without a cigarette in his mouth. Even when he was dying from his battle with Hidan and Kakuzu, his last request to Shikamaru was to light a cigarette for him.

That’s it from me! If you’ve got any characters to add let me know in the comments! I’m always up for knowing what people think about characters in anime who smoke. Does it fit their outward personality? Is it shocking to see them do it almost out of the blue if you’ve grown with them and haven’t really seen it? I know there’s at least one character I questioned when I saw him smoking (coach Ukai from Haikyuu!!) so maybe I’m not the only one?

Oh, and an honorable mention…..

Wait…that’s me! Yeah, I’m a smoker–which is something I’m not proud to admit, but it is what it is. But, considering I kind of made myself an anime character with this picture I think I can include myself, no? Anyway, that’s it from me!